Northwest Professional Educators (NWPE), the state’s premier non-union, professional educator association, is pleased to announce the election of its new board of directors and officers.

Dr. Bill Proser, founder of the nationally acclaimed Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy and its honors literature and economics teacher, is NWPE’s president. Cherri Sabala, an Idaho Teacher Certification Specialist and State Coordinator of the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence who formerly taught in Nampa, hails from Boise, ID, and is the NWPE’s new vice president. Mikki Nuckols, Rocky Mountain Middle School reading teacher in Idaho Falls, ID, and winner of Idaho’s 2007 Milken Educator Award, is serving as treasurer. Barbara Amidon of Olympia, WA, a recently retired middle school counselor and co-founder of NWPE as a state partner of the Association of American Educators, is board secretary. Brad Patzer, Supervision Manager at Idaho Digital Learning Academy, was also re-elected to the board.

"I am delighted to welcome these outstanding education leaders to the NWPE team," said Cindy Omlin, NWPE executive director. "They each bring a wealth of experience as veteran educators, administrators, and leaders in the teacher choice movement. I am thrilled that they will be focusing their time, energy, and talents to build upon the growth and momentum of the non-union education association option in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon that we have worked so hard to create."

“I am truly honored to assume the role of NWPE President and thank the board and staff for their incredible support and confidence,” said Dr. Proser. “The NWPE staff and I are excited to build this organization and promote educator professionalism, collaboration and excellence. We look forward to supporting and empowering educators for years to come.”

We also wish to express thanks to outgoing board members Ken Hayward, a middle school language arts and Spanish teacher in Lynden, WA, and Carol Scholz, Idaho's 2008 Teacher of the Year who most recently worked for the Idaho State Department of Education as the Digital Content Coordinator. Ken has worked hard to advance different models of teacher representation so that teachers have professional choices that best meet their needs. Carol is passionate about advancing professional choices for educators which focus on developing collaborative relationships that place students as educators' highest priorities. We appreciate them both and wish them well in their continued educational pursuits.